The Sons of Ramesses
by Templarlady
Summary: Bill and Alex go on holiday to Eygpt and get involved in a conspiracy against The Authority.
1. Chapter 1

The Character of Bill belongs to Charliane Harris and Alan Ball. All other characters are the product of my warped imagination.

**The Sons of Ramesses**

All my life I had wanted to visit Egypt. The history of the Red Lands had always fascinated me, I had read books, both fact and fiction, watched documentaries, visited Museums and Galleries, anything I could to discover more about it. So when Bill informed me that he had been invited to an International Conference in Cairo and asked me if I would like to accompany him I was delighted.

"Oh Bill!" I squeaked excitedly. "I'd love to." I flung my arms around him and kissed him.

"Well" he smiled down at me, "I must admit I wasn't expecting quite such an enthusiastic reaction. After your recent experiences I wouldn't have thought that a Hotel full of vampires would be your first choice for a holiday destination?"

"If it's in Egypt I can cope!" I said "Besides you won't need me will you? I plan to be out sightseeing most of the time!"

"Of course I'll need you!" said Bill, looking highly offended. "I always need you." He gathered me up into his arms. "Who's going to take my mind off all the boring meetings? Besides, I want to come sightseeing with you!"

"Won't you be busy?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not really sure" he said in a slightly puzzled tone. Charles called me and said he wanted Gerry and I to attend, but I'm not sure why. From what I can gather the actual conference is pretty high powered stuff. There will be delegates attending from all over Europe and the Far East as well as representatives from the AVL and several members of The Authority." He paused thoughtfully, "Actually I would have thought that Gerry and I would be fairly far down the list."

"You are his most photogenic sheriff!" I said with a smile and he laughed.

"Perhaps he just wants us as backup" he said "but at least it should mean that I can get some sightseeing in!"

And that was how I came to be getting out of a bus on a hot afternoon in Cairo having been driven through the manic streets from the airport. Although Anubis, the courier company used by most vampires, were highly organised and extremely efficient I was beginning to wonder seriously if you could get those travelling pods from Anubis for two. Then I could just climb in with Bill and sleep for the whole journey. Sounded good to me!

We had arrived quite late in the evening after a long day and I was very tired. I had seen the names of Gerry and Claudia on the list belonging to the Anubis representative as well as Charles and I was looking forward to meeting them again, but not that night.

The Hotel in Cairo was a new, purpose built building next to the Mena Palace in Giza. Bill had told me it was part of a chain specially built to be suitable for Vampires called "The Osiris". There were three so far, one in Cairo, one in Luxor and one in Alexandria. The suite which Bill had reserved for us had a balcony which looked out over the Pyramids and the desert on the Giza plateau beyond.

Visitors to Giza are always amazed that the suburbs of Cairo are so close to the massive monuments and I was no exception but, sitting on the balcony with Bill that evening watching the son et lumière display lighting up the three great Pyramids and the Sphinx, it was as if I had been transported back to the time of Cheops and Chephren. I loved it! Bill and I sat together on the wicker couch and gazed out over the plateau as the great spotlights lit up areas in turn as they came into the story. It was a magical evening and It was just a shame that it had been such a long day that I eventually fell asleep on the balcony with my head on Bill's shoulder.

I woke the next day to find myself comfortably tucked up in bed next to Bill's still form. He must have carried me in off the balcony, undressed me and laid me down beside him without waking me. Bless him. I got up carefully, so as not to disturb him, and slipped into the adjoining bathroom for a shower. Thoroughly refreshed I headed down to the restaurant in search of food.

The restaurant was fairly full and I spotted Chris at a table in the corner and went over to him.

"Hi!" I said. "Since you're the only person I know here, do you mind if I join you?"

"Of course, please sit down." said Chris through a mouthful of toast. "Haven't seen you since Amsterdam." I sat down and helped myself to a coffee. "Of course, we both saw Bill on "Late Night Talk" with Charles." He said with a grin. "He's such a great spokesman and Claudia was so delighted with his little announcement. She thinks he deserves some happiness."

I blushed and reached over for some toast. "Oh, he's such an old softy really!" I said "But don't tell him I said that!"

Chris laughed and then said "Of course, we also saw the footage from the incident outside the courtroom. That was horrific! Are you okay, both of you I mean?"

"Oh yes, we're fine." I looked around for a waiter and saw two over by the window. I raised my hand and one came hurrying over.

"Could we have another pot of coffee please?" I asked.

"Certainly Madam."

As he hurried off I glanced back to the window at the other waiter, he seemed familiar somehow. He was a European, although that in itself was not unusual. The Hotel staff were a mixture of Europeans and native Egyptians, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that I'd seen him before somewhere. I was getting paranoid! I shook my head and turned back to Chris with a smile.

Later that morning Chris and I joined up with a group of people from the Hotel to go and have a walk around the Pyramids. It seemed strange to be sightseeing without Bill but I enjoyed myself tremendously and it was nice just to be with other humans who enjoyed the company of vampires for a change. The one exception was a young woman named Susie. She was a reporter who had been sent to cover the conference and she told me that she was a little nervous as she had never had any contact with vampires before. We wandered over to the Sphinx and sat down on a bench in the shade for a chat. She was such a pleasant friendly girl that I soon found myself telling her all about how I had met Bill.

"I can understand how you'd be nervous of him at first." She said. "I know I would be!"

"He's very sweet, really!" I laughed "I'll introduce you. But you're right to be wary, I don't agree with people who say that all vampires are monsters, obviously, but I have to say that some of them are! You should be careful!"

"I'd like to meet Bill, if you wouldn't mind introducing me?" she asked. "I saw him on TV and he seemed charming and very reasonable. Far more so than that guy from the Fellowship, certainly!"

"Sure!" I said, "why don't we meet in the bar tonight for a drink?"

"Oh yes, that would be lovely, thanks." She replied happily.

"Well, I'd better be getting back to the Hotel for a nap. That's something else you'll notice with people who associate with vamps. They like to have a nap in the afternoon as they're usually up all night!" She laughed and we got up and headed back.

I slipped back into the suite and curled up on the sofa. I hadn't really thought that I was tired but I soon found myself beginning to nod off. After nearly falling off the sofa a few times I gave in, undressed and put on the lovely coffe coloured silk nightdress I had bought to go to Amsterdam, and somehow never managed to wear! I slipped into the bed next to Bill and fell fast asleep in moments.

Bill woke me shortly after dusk. I was lying on my side facing away from him and I felt a cool hand slide down the silk over my hip and cool lips on my shoulder.

"Hmmm….nice nightdress, but too long…" his fingers were tugging insistently at the silk, trying to ease the nightdress up over my hips as he nuzzled at my neck, running his tongue around my ear, pulling the lobe between his lips and sucking on it. I rolled over onto my back and smiled up at him.

"What do you think you're up to Bill Compton?" I asked.

"Well..." he said thoughtfully "I woke up to find this beautiful woman in my bed. Consequently I think I'm "up to" pretty much anything you fancy?"

"But we have to go down to the bar to meet everyone right? Besides I agreed to meet Susie for a drink" I said.

Bill leaned over me and brushed the hair back from my face. "And who is Susie?"

"I just met her earlier today, she's a reporter." I explained.

Bill sat up, "A reporter! Oh Alex, you know I hate reporters!"

"Don't be unreasonable Bill, you'll like her, really. She's very sweet. I said I'd introduce you, she's never met a vampire before and she's a little nervous to be covering the conference."

Bill gave a short laugh. "I'm not surprised...talk about being thrown in at the deep end!" He looked down at me again. "Well, I suppose I could be persuaded to meet another reporter. If you're very nice to me..."

"Hmm…..and what exactly would I have to do to persuade you?" Bill reached for me and pulled me over into his arms.

"Well, you could help me get this nightdress off for a start!" he said.

We strolled into the bar and immediately spotted Claudia and Chris, who waved to us. We went over to them and Bill gave Claudia a friendly hug.

"Hi you two" she said "How are you?"

"We're both very well all things considered" said Bill with a smile.

"We saw the footage of the shooting on the internet" said Claudia "and, of course your TV appearance!"

Bill gave a little sigh and looked down at his feet, embarrassed. "Oh, Bill. You were amazing!" she said "you were perfect, calm and reasonable, and so sweet!"

"Completely unvampire-like you mean?" said Bill with a laugh.

"You were just yourself!" said Claudia, seriously, putting a gentle hand on his arm. "You showed that we're not all creatures out of late night horror movies. When you told the story of how you were turned I was nearly in tears, and I wasn't the only one!"

He smiled down at her. "Well the last thing I wanted was to make you cry my dear. Let me get you a drink to make up." We headed over to the bar. As I turned I noticed Susie come in and look around nervously. I caught her eye and waved. She came over with a shy smile.

"Hi Susie" I said taking her arm and bringing her into the group at the bar, "This is Bill and Claudia….don't offer to shake hands, vamps don't do that!"

"Oh, sorry" she said with an embarrassed little smile, "you can tell I don't know much about this."

Bill smiled at her "Don't worry, you'll soon get the hang of it. I suggest you stay with us for a while, there are a few vampires here that you really shouldn't offend, even accidentally. They wouldn't take it very well!"

"Okay, I'll stick with you!" said Susie, clearly charmed.

I turned to Chris who was trying to catch the barman's eye. "And this is Chris, Claudia's partner."

"Hi Susie! What would you like to drink?"

I gave Bill a nudge while Chris and Susie were conferring at the bar. "Hey, what happened to "I hate reporters" Mr Compton?"

"Well," he said with a little smirk "They can't all be bad. I thought I should give her the benefit of the doubt."

"Oh, you….!" He laughed and slipped his arm around me. "Why Miss Morgan" he said, "I do believe you're jealous!" He gave me a kiss. "Let's get you a drink shall we?"

Soon we were all standing at the bar chatting happily together. Claudia was facing the main doors and suddenly she looked up and said "Oh my, look who's here!" I turned to the doorway and saw Charles Montague coming into the bar with a tall, extremely well dressed, blond woman. She had the vaguely dissatisfied expression of someone who expects everything to be organised exactly to her specifications.

"Who's that?" I whispered to Bill, who turned to see what I was looking at.

"Oh no! That's Nan Flanagan from the AVL."

"Do you know her?" I asked.

"Unfortunately yes, I do." He didn't sound too happy about it though.

Charles spotted us and said something to Nan, taking her arm and steering her through the growing crowd, towards us.

"Well, Bill!" she said, "What a surprise, you look remarkably healthy for someone who supposedly met the true death a couple of years ago!"

"You've evidently been misinformed Nan, it's most unusual for you to be working with out of date information. I'd have a serious word with your informant if I were you!" said Bill smiling sweetly at her.

"That would be your Viking associate, now why would he give me wrong information I wonder?"

"I suspect that he was hoping it was true." said Bill.

"Well, since you're here, you may as well be of some use" she said briskly. "I understand that you have travelled quite extensively in the past. We need someone who knows some of the Eastern contingent. Charles and I know most of the Western Vampires but very few others. How about you, have you spent any time in Egypt before?"

"Yes, actually I spent some time here in the early 1900's but I was here with an American entrepreneur, Theodore Davies, he was an archaeologist, I only met a few vampires and I don't see any of them here at the moment."

Nan looked annoyed for a moment. "Oh well, it was just a thought." She said, already looking around for the next mark.

Just then I noticed someone turn around and look in our direction, evidently recognising Bill's voice. He was a middle aged Chinese in a very expensive looking silk suit. He said something to his companions and began to make his way over to our group, coming up behind Bill and tapping him on the shoulder.

"William, my good friend! It has been a long time!" he said with a broad smile.

Bill turned and his mouth dropped open with surprise. "Li Cheng!" he had barely got the name out before he was grasped in a hug by the other man.

"You seem surprised to see me my friend?" he said

"I'm surprised you even remember me! It's been over a hundred years since we met" said Bill with a big smile.

"Oh, now how could I ever forget someone who saved my life!" said Li Cheng.

At this Nan turned back and began to look interested. "Bill, perhaps you would introduce me to your friend?" she asked.

"Certainly" said Bill "Li Cheng, this is Nan Flanagan, the spokesman for the AVL. Nan, this is Li Cheng, an old friend of mine."

"Ah! I am very pleased to meet you Ms Flanagan. I have heard of you of course, I should explain that I am here as the head of the Chinese delegation."

"Excellent" said Nan "I'm very pleased to meet you. There's going to be a meeting of the delegation leaders later tonight, we would be delighted if you would attend. Bill, perhaps you should attend as well?" she said turning to Bill.

Bill's face fell "Do you really think that's necessary?" he asked with a sigh.

"Oh, in view of your recent media exposure I think it would be a good idea, don't you?" she gave him a sharp look.

"Oh very well then!" he said in a resigned tone.

"Excellent!" she said with a smile "I'll see you later then, I must go and circulate." She headed off purposefully into the crowd with Charles in tow.

"Please, come and join us" said Bill drawing Li Cheng into our little group. "Let me introduce you, this is Claudia, Chris and Susie" he said, indicating them each in turn, and this is Alexandra, she is mine."

Li Cheng took my hand and brought it to his lips "Ah, I see you still have good taste in women my friend!" he smiled at me. "Speaking of which…..you didn't take my little Lotus Flower with you to America after all?"

Bill looked highly embarrassed for a moment. "Well…er…..no. I didn't think it would be safe for her…..with Lorena….." Li Cheng laughed and patted him on the arm.

"Please, don't worry my friend. I understand. Lorena would not have liked it at all, I can see that. Is she here?" he asked looking around.

"No, she has met the true death I'm afraid." said Bill. "But she had released me a long time before that. Tell me…." he paused for a moment.

"What happened to Lotus?" asked Li Cheng gently. "She married Jung Lu and he was transferred back to Shanghai to be nearer to his widowed sister and her son. This meant that he was not involved in the siege of the Legations which was instigated by the Boxers, in which many Imperial soldiers were killed." He smiled at Bill "I met her again, many times….she died an old lady with many children and even more grandchildren. She had a good life William San, and she always remembered you."

Bill was silent for a moment as we all stood watching him and Li Cheng. Then he smiled and said "So you're the Chinese delegate? You never struck me as being interested in politics."

"Well, the world is very different now, someone has to speak for us – would you rather it was Sang?"

Bill stiffened and looked around warily. "He's not here is he?"

Li Cheng laughed "No, he was one of those who opposed the Revelation, but he certainly wouldn't be happy to see you again. You were the first vampire to defeat him in many years, in fact I don't think anyone has since!" Bill looked around. Gerry had strolled up to join us and he and Claudia were gazing at him with a new respect.

He gave a little laugh. "Oh, I was lucky!" he said "If he'd had any idea how to use a cavalry sabre I would have met the true death there and then!" He smiled at the puzzled expressions around him. "It's a long story! Another time perhaps."

We found a table in the corner of the bar and talked comfortably together for another hour or so until Nan and Charles re-appeared and invited Bill and Li Cheng to join the delegates meeting.

"I'll be back as soon as I can" Bill said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"See you later then." I replied and turned back to Susie. "Well, how are you getting on. Think you're going to be able to cope now?" I asked with a grin.

"Oh I feel much more comfortable now that I've met Bill and Claudia," she said "and Li Cheng seemed nice too."

"I wouldn't get too comfortable if I were you!" warned Claudia. "Bill and I are not exactly typical. You will need to be careful, even here at the conference, but so long as you show a proper respect, you'll be okay."

I kept an eye out for Bill, but he didn't re-appear for another hour. The bar was lit up for a disco and I watched him walk towards me across the dance floor, his pale skin glowing and luminous under the ultraviolet lights and I thought he looked slightly worried. Susie had already left and Claudia and Chris were just leaving as he got back from the meeting. We said goodbye and sat down by the bar.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Possibly" he said quietly. "It appears that The Authority has information about a possible threat to the conference. They have received an anonymous tip off that someone from the Fellowship of the Sun will try to plant a bomb in the Hotel."

I suddenly felt a chill. "What!"

"Shhh! We don't want this information getting out. It could cause a panic. There's really nothing to worry about, the security here is first rate. No-one can get in who isn't either registered or an employee." Bill went up to the bar to get a Tru Blood and I sat quietly at the table thinking. Something was worrying at my brain, what was it? Bill came back and sat down just as it came to me.

"Oh my...that's it, an employee. Now I know where I've seen him before!"

"Seen who, what are you talking about?" asked Bill, confused.

"Listen Bill, when I came down for breakfast this morning I could have sworn that I recognised one of the waiters. But I couldn't remember where I'd seen him before."

"But how could you?" Bill interrupted. You told me you've never been here before."

"Exactly! So I thought I was imagining it, or maybe it was just some chance resemblance, but now I'm not so sure." I took a deep breath. "Bill, I think he was in the green room at the TV studios. I think he was one of Stuart Nelson's people, from the Fellowship!"

Bill sat absolutely still, in that way that only vampires can, staring at me for a moment. "Alex, are you sure?" he asked. "Well...not really, really sure but, oh I don't know!" The more I thought about it the less sure I became. "But, what if it is him Bill? How many people are in this Hotel? Do you think the Fellowship would really do something like that?"

"Yes, they would" he said harshly "They've done it before. I've seen it happen, in Dallas. Alex you have to come and tell the delegates about this."

"Oh no, Bill please! Can't you tell them?" I really did not want to get involved in this.

"I didn't see him, and I wouldn't recognise him" he said taking my hand. "Please Alex, I believe you and you know you have to help us with this."

I put my head in my hands for a moment, but I knew he was right, I had to do this. So we got up and headed out of the bar and down the corridor to the conference room the Authority was using. Bill gave a perfunctory knock and walked straight in, holding me by the hand. There were several vampires sitting around the table. I recognised Nan, Charles and Li Cheng, but I had never seen any of the others before. They all looked around, surprised, as Bill strode into the room. A tall blond man stood up at the end of the table.

"I was not aware that we had requested your return Mr Compton?" he said coldly.

"No," said Bill "but I think you need to hear this." He put his arm around me protectively. "This is Alex, she is mine. I told her about the possibility of an infiltrator from the Fellowship..."

I heard a few gasps and Charles pushed his chair back as if to rise. The blond man glared at Bill angrily, his fangs beginning to drop. "You were specifically told not to say anything to anyone!" he growled.

Bill stood his ground and growled right back. "It's just as well that I did. Alex thinks she recognised one of the waiters as someone she saw in the green room at the TV studios in London last month. One of Reverend Nelson's people." There was silence for a moment and then everyone began to talk at once.

"Silence!" roared the blond vampire.

In the hush that followed Charles said "I don't think I recognise any of the waiters?"

"He's not around tonight" I said. "Maybe he's only working a day shift?"

The delegates stared at me as if they actually hadn't thought of that. The tall blond man turned to the woman sitting next to him and said "Tina, go to Security, I want pictures of every employee in this hotel, from the personnel files." He pulled out the chair beside him and turned to me. "Alex? Perhaps you would care to sit down? I am Ulrich. I hope you will be able to help us."

I have to say that I was impressed with Ulrich's efficiency. Within ten minutes I was sat at the conference table next to a trolley on which were piles of files, and an extremely worried looking Egyptian was wringing his hands and trying to explain the details of the Hotel's security checks to half a dozen angry vampires. I got the Hotel Security staff to remove all the files for the local Egyptian employees and concentrated on the westerners. Fortunately these were far fewer and after another ten minutes or so I opened a file and saw him.

"Alex?" Bill was sitting opposite me watching my face intently. "What is it?"

"This is him, I'm sure of it!" I handed the file to Ulrich who was sitting quietly next to me.

"You're quite sure of this?" he asked.

"I'm only sure that this man was in the green room at the TV Studios. I don't know who he is or what he was doing there though."

Ulrich stared at the face in the personnel photo. "So what's he doing here working in this Hotel. It's a bit of a stretch to imagine that it's just a co-incidence don't you think?" He turned back to the woman he had spoken to before. "Tina, I want everything you can find on this man, and fast!" He handed her the file and she slipped out of the room.

Ulrich turned back to me and took my hand. "Thank you Alex. This could be the breakthrough that we need. Even if it doesn't work out I should like to offer you our thanks and gratitude for coming to us with this information." He turned to Bill. "Thank you, I'll keep you updated Bill."

Bill nodded and got up. He came round the table and took my hand, evidently we were no longer required. Well that was fine by me! I gave Ulrich a little nod and he smiled back at me. Then Bill and I left and headed back to our suite. We walked back in silence and it was only when we were safely back inside that I felt able to say anything.

"What's going to happen Bill?" I asked. "What will they do?"

"They will get as much information on the man as possible. If they find he has links to the Fellowship…. I really don't know. If they find something definite then he would probably be handed over to the human authorities, if not…then….." His voice tailed off.

"Oh God, Bill…..what have I done? What if I'm wrong, what if it's just a co-incidence?"

"What if it isn't!" Bill came over and took me in his arms. "I've seen first hand what these fanatics can do Alex. If they find nothing then there'll be no problem. Trust me, they won't do anything to him unless they have evidence."

"You're sure of that are you?" I have to say he didn't look entirely sure.

"I need some rest." I said and got up. In a few minutes I was curled up in bed. Bill had got in with me and was lying beside me with an arm across me. Despite my worries I drifted off to sleep.

I was woken a few hours later by a knocking on the door. Bill was still awake, it appeared to be about an hour before dawn. Bill went to the door and opened it to reveal Ulrich standing in the corridor outside. "May I come in?" he asked politely.

Bill stood back to let him in and I sat up in bed and pulled the sheets up around me.

"I thought you would like to know what has happened." He said. "Your waiter turned out to be registered here under a false name, but Tina was able to identify him from the photograph. He is a fully paid up member of the Fellowship of the Sun. He had a brother who disappeared two years ago after an alleged vampire attack. My security picked him up and brought him to the conference room, they searched his room and found Fellowship literature and sufficient explosives to make a sizeable bomb, together with a laptop containing instructions downloaded from the Fellowship's website. He was subsequently handed over to the Egyptian Security Services. They think it's likely that he had accomplices outside the Hotel complex."

We all sat in silence for a moment. "So Alex was right." said Bill.

"Indeed!" said Ulrich giving me a little smile. "Without her information there could have been a disaster. Many of the senior people in the Authority might have met the true death…..not to mention the many humans in the Hotel complex." He stood up and smiled down at me. "We have made good use of your information Alex, but in view of the fact that he may have accomplices that we cannot identify I have made the decision to move the conference to Luxor.

I sat up straighter "The whole conference!" I asked.

He laughed, "It's just the people really, and they would probably all enjoy a move to Luxor anyway. As a small token of our appreciation I've booked you and Bill into the honeymoon suite at The Osiris Luxor, and I've arranged a trip to Abu Simbel for you both before the end of the conference. I understand that you would find that interesting?"

"Oh….yes, thank you so much, I'd love that!"

At this Ulrich levered his tall frame out of the chair and turned to Bill. "My team will make all the arrangements during the day and we'll be ready to transfer just after dusk. I'll leave you to sleep." He reached over to put his hand on Bill's arm. "Thank you" he said "Thank you both."

After he had left, Bill sat down on the bed with a little sigh.

"Do you think, one day, we could have a little holiday with just the two of us?" I asked plaintively.

Bill climbed into bed and put his arm around me.

"One day precious, one day!" he laughed. "Well Ulrich seems to like you at least."

"That's good is it?" I asked puzzled.

Bill looked surprised. "I forget sometimes how little you know of us" he said. "Ulrich is one of the three most powerful members of The Authority, which in itself is the most powerful vampire organisation in the world. That makes him one of the most powerful vampires on the planet!"

"Oh…..I see." I was very glad I hadn't known that earlier or I'd have run a mile rather than walk in on one of his meetings.

"Did I hear you say earlier that you had come to Egypt with Theodore Davies?" I asked, snuggling in close to him.

"Yes" he answered. "You know how, at first, I hated the thought of what I had become, what Lorena had done to me. The trip to China had changed me, I had begun to realise that I had almost indefinite time ahead of me. That, if it were not for her, I could do whatever I wanted, go wherever I liked. She sensed it too, she realised that, if she wanted me to stay with her willingly, she would have to allow me some freedom at least. And so she began to loosen her grip on me a little." He smiled down at me. "Don't misunderstand me, she was still my maker and I was still bound to her, but she began to allow me a little more leeway to come and go as I pleased. I had been making highly successful investments on the stock market for some time and had accumulated a substantial amount of money and in 1904 I read an article about the excavations in the Valley of the Kings. There had been a lot of discoveries there in the previous century and more digging had recently been authorised.

"Mmm, yes" I murmured. "Belzoni had discovered the tomb of Seti I in 1817 along with those of Ramesses I, Amenhotep III, Merneptah and Ay."

Bill turned my head to face him and looked down at me. "My, you're quite the little expert aren't you?"

"Reading about it is one thing, it's not like actually being there." I said. "Oh, Bill. Did you go? Did you actually go to the Valley of the Kings?"

"Yes, indeed I did." He said, smiling at my enthusiasm. "Davies wanted financial backing but he didn't want anyone who would take the spotlight off him. He wanted the publicity, which obviously I didn't. I was simply interested and agreed to subsidise some of the digging that season, provided I could join him in Luxor and observe the work."

"1904….hmmm." I thought for a moment. Bill leaned back against the headboard and watched me. "Now you're going to tell me what we discovered aren't you? Won't you allow me any surprises?"

I grinned up at him. "I think we've had enough surprises for one night don't you?" I said. "Oh, wait…I've got it. It was Yuya and Tuya right?"

Bill slid down the bed and grabbed me around the waist, pulling me to him and rolled me over so that I was lying on top of him. I gave a surprised squeak and he laughed. "Right then, are you going to tell me this story or am I going to tell you? What do you know about them?"

"Well, I know that Yuya was Grand Vizir to Amenhotep IV and they were the parents of Queen Tiye, the "King's Great Wife". They were the grandparents of the heretic Akhenaten." Bill slid his hands down to my hips and said "Very impressive."

I wriggled out of his grasp and lay down beside him. "Okay, tell me what happened!"

Well, I described Davies as an archaeologist earlier, but he was an amateur and in order to get a licence to excavate he needed someone qualified. He had been working with Howard Carter earlier in 1904 but Carter had resigned from his position after a row with Gaston Maspero, the French director of the Department of Antiquities. By the time I arrived in January 1905 there was an Englishman, Arthur Weigall in charge of the excavations. I met Theodore Davies in Luxor and arranged to come out to the Valley of The Kings every evening. I had made my substantial donation to his expedition funds conditional on the fact that he asked no questions about me. I imagine he thought of me as some kind of rich eccentric who simply wanted to stay out of the strong Egyptian sunlight.

His men were digging in a bank of chippings left behind by the ancient workmen, next to the entrance to the tomb of Ramesses IX and one evening, while I leaned on a boulder watching the work, one of the workmen called out to Weigall that he had found something. He looked over to me and called "Well, come on Bill, you'll want to see this!"

The workmen had exposed the top of a sealed door protruding from the filling of limestone chips and sand that blocked the stairwell. Although everyone was hugely excited by this find it was late in the evening and Weigall sent the workers home. The leader of the work gang, however, remained behind, along with his small son and between us Weigall, the workman and I broke through the seal at the top of the door, watched by Davies and the valley guards. There was not enough room for a man to get through the gap but we could see a steeply sloping corridor dropping away into the gloom. The workman took off his turban and unwound it, putting the long strip of cloth under his small son's arms and lowered him gently through the gap. We could just see a small group of objects lying on the floor of the corridor and the boy ran over and picked them up. His father hauled him back up to the gap and he passed the finds out to me. There was a gold-covered wooden yoke from a chariot, a magnificent staff of office and a stone scarab, also covered with gold leaf."

Bill paused and looked down at me. I was gazing at him in amazement, fascinated by his story. "Oh, Bill!...how wonderful" I was almost speechless. Bill smiled, obviously pleased with the effect his reminiscences were having on me.

"It took a week or two to clear the entrance and the corridors, but when Davies and Weigall, with Maspero, finally entered the burial chamber, I went with them. It had been robbed in antiquity, as had almost all the royal tombs but the chamber was still so packed with objects that we could not reach the far side. First we saw the name of the owner Yuya and then that of his wife Tuya. We had found, as you said, the parents of the Great Queen Tiye. We were standing among the remains of the finest burial ever seen at that time."

"What was it like?" I whispered, afraid to break into his thoughts. "What did you feel?"

"It's hard to describe. The knowledge that it had been three and a half thousand years since anyone had stood where I was standing. That the bodies of these two people who lay peacefully in the torn open caskets had lain here for nearly fifteen hundred years when Christ was preaching in Palestine. It's almost impossible to imagine that length of time, even for us."

"We'll go there together, won't we?" I asked. "To the Valley of the Kings, when we get to Luxor?"

"Yes, I'd like to go back. It's a strange place, very peaceful despite all the disturbance over the centuries, especially at night. There's a hill at the far end shaped like a pyramid. Some say that's why the valley was chosen for the burials of the Pharaohs. It's sacred to the snake goddess Meretseger, "She who loves silence" I'd like to take you there." He leaned over me and pressed his lips against mine. I put my hands around his neck and pulled him down to me, opening my lips to his hungry kisses.

Bill tugged the sheets down and began to lay a line of kisses down my body, starting in the hollow of my throat and kissing his way down past my full breasts, down my stomach, heading for the tender flesh between my thighs. I lay back and relaxed as he placed his head between my legs and pushed his tongue inside me, flicking it insistently as deeply as he could. I began to feel a hot liquid sensation in my stomach as the blood bond transmitted his rising exitement to me. Just as I reached the edge of a peak of pleasure he gave one last flick with his tongue and sat up.

I moaned, begging him not to stop as he picked me up effortlessly in his arms and turned me away from him and sat me down on his lap. I could feel the rumble of a growl from his chest as he felt my silky juices oozing onto his spread thighs and he lifted me slightly and pushed himself gently inside me with a sigh of contentment. Then, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, he put his feet on the floor. He held me on his lap, his iron hard shaft still buried deeply inside me and curled his feet around my ankles. He began to ease his feet wider apart, pulling my legs apart helplessly and pushing himself even deeper into me. He nuzzled at me pushing my hair aside and planting delicate kisses down the back of my neck.

One arm was around my body, holding me firmly on his lap, his hand cupping my breast. The other hand began to slide down between my spread legs and I felt his long fingers begin to massage the silky smooth fluid over my delicate folds. I leaned back against his hard cool body. Putting my head back over his shoulder as his lips moved around and up to my throat. I could feel the scrape of his fangs over the thin skin and then he bit down into my flesh and drank deeply as I writhed and convulsed with pleasure in his arms.

I slept deeply that day and didn't wake until after dusk. Bill was already up and dressed and had started to re-pack his case.

"Well hello sleepy!" he said coming over to the bed. "It's time you were up. Ulrich has arranged a car to take us down to Luxor and it'll be here soon.

"Why didn't you wake me?" I asked drowsily.

"You were sleeping so peacefully I didn't like to, besides there's no need. I'm sure the car will wait for Ulrich's golden girl!"

"I don't want to be anyone's golden girl." I said grumpily getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom. "I just wanted to have a quiet holiday." Just as I reached the bathroom door I felt Bills arms slide around me, his hand moving up my stomach to cup my breast. It was only at that point that I realised that I was still naked!

"What? Not even mine?" he whispered in my ear pulling me back against him and lifting my hair to kiss the back of my neck.

"Well…..all right then, maybe yours" I said with a smile as I leaned back into his arms.

"Mmm…you're lovely and warm" he murmured, running his hands over my skin.

I laughed "Only because I've just got out of bed. I won't be for long if I hang around here with you. Besides, didn't you say the car would be here soon?" He let go of me, somewhat reluctantly and I hurried into the bathroom for a shower.

Half an hour later we were packed up and heading through the outskirts of Cairo on our way to Luxor.

"So, if I can persuade Ulrich that he doesn't actually need me for the meetings, would you like to go to the Valley of the Kings tonight?" Bill asked when we were settled into the car.

"Can we?" I asked, turning to him.

"Of course." He smiled. "I hoped you'd say that. I happen to know that Gerry has arranged a trip for him, Claudia and Chris and I asked him if we could come too. He suggested that we also ask Susie, if that's all right with you?"

"Oh yes, that'll be lovely."

"We won't have time to unpack" he warned, we'll have to set off as soon as we get to the Hotel."

"No problem!" I said "I can't wait.

Bill pulled out his phone and made a call. I listened as he spoke to Ulrich, asking if he was required tonight. "Fine….thanks." he said and clicked the phone shut.

"Right! We're on!" he smiled at me as I grinned with delight. "Is there anything in particular that you want to see?" he asked, putting his arm around me.

"Oh, I'll be happy just to be there, to see whatever happens to be open. A lot of the tombs I'd really like to see are not open to the public anyway. Seti I, Ramesses II. I'd like to see Tutankhamun" I said twisting my head to look up at him. "One of the most interesting ones that I've recently read about isn't open though. It was discovered in the early 1800's, you might even have seen it. I'm not sure if it was open then. Burton dug his way in sometime in the 1820's but it was filled up with flood debris and it was subsequently covered over and lost."

Bill stared at me in disbelief. "Oh come on….how can you lose a tomb!"

I laughed, "It's true, I promise you. The early maps of the valley were very vague and, although it's marked, it was thought to be quite small and insignificant and it was covered over with the debris from other excavations. By the time Kent Weeks started the Theban mapping project in the 1970's its location was unknown. So he set out to find it, and he succeeded. It's right at the entrance to the valley just where the souvenir sellers are based. The tomb was filled almost to the ceiling with flood debris. His team cleared the first two chambers, which was as far as Burton had got in the 1820's and discovered a doorway in the far wall which they thought would lead to another chamber. When they cleared enough space to get through they discovered it led to a long corridor. A corridor with doors all the way along, there were sixteen chambers off the first corridor and a statue of Osiris at the end. When they got to the statue imagine their surprise when they discovered that, instead of leading to two more chambers, the two doorways at the end of the corridor led to two more corridors with more chambers. After clearing out the flood debris which choked the first few chambers, they have found two more corridors coming back from the first chamber. So far they've discovered something like 150 chambers – four or five times as many as in any other tomb in the valley."

"So what on earth was it for?" asked Bill.

"Well they found the cartouche of Ramesses II on the wall as well as the names of two of his sons. Ramesses was in his 80's when he died and had reigned for over 60 years. He had about 30 or so sons which we know of, and those were only the sons of his principal wives, I don't think they even counted the daughters."

"He built the temples at Abu Simbel, is that right?" asked Bill, "the ones Ulrich has arranged for us to visit later on?"

"That's right" I said "One temple is dedicated to him and the other to "The King's Great Wife" Nefertari. But Ramesses had two "Great Wives" Nefertari and Isisnofret, not to mention all the secondary wives and concubines. He outlived a dozen of his sons and he was succeeded by his thirteenth son. We only know where two of them were buried. Merneptah, who succeeded him as Pharaoh is thought to have been buried in the Valley of the Kings and Khaemwese, who was the high priest of Ptah is buried at Saqqara. So the theory is that this tomb was built for the other sons, the ones who would have been Crown Princes but who each died before their father.

Imagine that Bill, to be able to walk down a corridor which Ramesses had walked, numerous times during the funerals of his sons! The statue which they identified as Osiris, at the end of the main corridor, has the face missing. They think now that it may have been a statue of Ramesses, as Osiris. Placed there to watch over his sons for eternity."

I fell silent for a moment. Bill gave me a hug. "You really love this don't you." He asked with a smile.

"Oh yes…I do!" I said.

We spent the rest of the journey to Luxor discussing the tomb of the sons of Ramesses. Well, I did most of the talking!

When we arrived at the Hotel the others were already in the foyer waiting. Bill told the porters to take our bags up to the honeymoon suite which Ulrich had reserved for us.

"The Honeymoon Suite?" said Gerry with a laugh. "Hey, is there something you're not telling us Bill?"

Bill blushed furiously, I hadn't even known that vampires could do that! "It's just a co-incidence." He said hurriedly. He couldn't explain because no-one else knew of the reason for our move to Luxor.

"Oh right, a co-incidence, yeah!" There was a considerable amount of giggling as we hurried out to the cars which would take us down to the quay. Bill seemed unusually flustered and I took his hand and squeezed it gently. He put his arm around me and smiled. "Should have kept that quiet!" he said ruefully. "I'll bet Gerry's not going to let it go that easily."

As we got into the boat which would take us across the Nile to the west bank Gerry told us that he had arranged with the Hotel to provide an Egyptian guide for us, he was waiting for us on the far bank. When we arrived we discovered that he was not the only thing awaiting us! Sitting by the side of the track were seven camels! A man jumped up when we disembarked and ran over to us.

"Hello, hello! I am Alayah….I will be your guide tonight!" he cried, smiling broadly.

"Oh great!" said Gerry "you managed to find some!"

We all turned and stared at him.

"This was your idea?" asked Bill.

"Oh come on Bill, don't be so stuffy, it'll be fun!" cried Gerry heading over to the camels.

Well, I'd never seen anything like it! Eventually, after a bit of a struggle we were all in the saddle and Alayah mounted his own camel, warned us to hold on tight, called out something in Arabic and all the camels obediently stood up. No-one actually fell off, but it was a close thing! Chris came closest because he was so laid back he wasn't holding on tight enough!

Hanging on for grim death we set off across the strip of cultivated land alongside the Nile and headed out towards the desert, glowing pale in the moonlight. After a few minutes I began to get used to the swaying gait of the camel and looked around at my companions. Susie was clinging on bravely but still obviously uncomfortable. Claudia, however, looked as cool and elegant as always while Bill was back to his normal, calm and unflappable self, although I had noticed that while I had been getting used to the motion, he had been laughing so hard he almost fell off himself. Chris and Gerry were having a great time and seemed almost disappointed when we arrived at the Valley of the Kings.

We spent several hours in the valley visiting as many of the tombs as we could. Most had electric lighting but one or two did not and Alayah took us in by the light of several swaying lanterns. In these it felt almost as Bill had described it to me, as if we were discovering them for the first time. I wondered for a moment if it would have been better to come in the daylight, but, once inside the tombs, it was dark anyway and I wanted Bill with me. I remember seeing Chris and Susie gazing in awe at wall paintings so bright they might have been done yesterday. There was one tomb which was half finished. The King for whom it was made must have died unexpectedly and I walked with Bill along a corridor lined with paintings, first coloured, then in line drawing until we came to one which was only half drawn, as if the painter had put down his brush and gone outside for something and would return in a moment to finish his work. I badgered Alayah with endless questions and I noticed Bill at one point leaning on a doorway watching me with a smile as I bored everyone silly with information.

Eventually we came to the tomb of the boy king Tutankhamun. It was a much smaller and less impressive monument that any of the others we had seen but had been filled with treasures, everything that the young king would need for his journey to the underworld. Bill and I stood quietly looking down into the sarcophagus where the king's body still lay, sealed under glass.

"Compare the size of this tomb with the tombs of the other Pharaohs we've just seen" I said. "The treasures that must have been in a tomb the size of Ramesses II must have been unimaginable, no wonder they were all robbed in antiquity."

"This boy only reigned for a few years" said Bill thoughtfully "Did you say Ramesses ruled for 60 years?"

"Just think of it" I whispered. "Most of his people had never known any other Pharaoh, life expectancy was much shorter then. He was truly a god to them. Imagine how the priests must have panicked when he died There was probably no-one left alive who had ever even seen a royal funeral, let alone organised one."

Bill put his arm around me and we went back out into the valley. Alayah had arranged for two cars to take us back to the quay. All too soon we were back at the Hotel. We piled out of the cars into the foyer of The Osiris, talking excitedly and headed for the elevators. We said our goodnights and split up to go to our rooms, Bill and I heading for the Honeymoon Suite to a rousing chorus of "Here comes the Bride" from Gerry and Chris!

"This damn suite had better be worth it!" growled Bill as we opened the door. I was walking behind him, half asleep and walked straight into him as he stopped dead in the doorway.

"Ouch, what the…..!" I looked around him and saw at least six huge bouquets of red and white roses arranged around the suite. I looked at Bill but he was obviously as surprised as I was. So they weren't from him. Oh dear….

He walked over to the bouquet on the dresser and picked up the card. I noticed his fangs slide out as he read the name. "Ulrich!" he said, turning to me with a questioning expression.

"Don't look at me!" I said "I've only spoken to him twice. He probably just asked the Hotel to put some flowers in the suite for us." Bill still looked unconvinced so I opened the bathroom door and said "well I need a bath, I'm hot and dusty and…oh my!" There was another bouquet in the bathroom alongside a huge whirlpool bath. "Right, I'm having a bath, I'll see you later." I turned to see Bill sit down on one of the couches with a scowl.

Fifteen minutes later I was lying in the hot scented water wondering what to do about Bill. I had to admit that he had been painfully honest with me. He had told me about Sookie, I knew that he had loved her deeply, that he still did, and that he had lost her to a more powerful vampire. Now it looked like he was afraid the same thing was happening again.

As I thought about this the door opened and Bill put his head through the gap. "Mind if I come in?" he asked quietly.

"Of course not" I answered and he opened the door and walked in. He was wearing one of the Hotel's fluffy dressing gowns and he came over and sat down on the broad shelf at the edge of the sunken bath. He reached over and ran his fingertips across my cheek.

"I'm sorry precious," he said. "I'm just being foolish aren't I?"

I took his hand in mine. "Bill" I said "I love you, I love you for yourself, for who you are, not what you are. I'm not interested in other vampires. I don't imagine for a moment that Ulrich is trying to make a move on me, but even if he was, it wouldn't do him any good. I'm not interested in anyone else but you."

Bill reached down and took me in his arms. He leaned over me and began to kiss me, working his tongue between my lips and sliding his hand behind my head, pulling me closer in as his kiss deepened. He slid the robe from his shoulders so that he sat naked on the edge of the bath and I moved closer, nudging his legs apart and running my hands over his muscled chest. He sat and watched me in silence as I ran my hands down his sides and onto his thighs, sliding down deeper into the water until my head was level with the edge of the bath. I slid my hand back up his thigh and took him gently in my hand as he threw his head back and groaned.

"Oh...I so love to feel your hands on me" he whispered. "So warm and soft."

I bent my head and took him into my mouth, sucking gently and feeling his stiffness rubbing against the roof of my mouth. He gave another groan and reached down to take my head in his hands. Holding me with his fingers tangled in my wet hair, pushing himself between my lips. Soon I felt his shaft swelling in my mouth and I could tell that he was beginning to lose his iron self control. I bent my head back, feeling the tip of his shaft against the back of my throat and held on tight as he gave a roar and exploded into me, pumping his essence into my waiting mouth.

"Oh... Alex!" he whispered, releasing my hair and pulling back from me, "I'm sorry...I...I couldn't stop."

I reached up and took his hand, tugging until he slid down into the bathwater alongside me and I leaned against him. "It's okay, I'm fine. I'm not made of glass you know, I won't break. Well, so long as you don't really overdo it!"

We sat together for a while until I felt the bathwater was getting too cold, Bill always seemed to absorb the heat somehow. Then he picked me up gently and carried me out to the bedroom. He insisted on carefully drying every inch of my body with one of the deliciously soft towels before climbing into bed beside me.

"I must remember to thank Ulrich for the roses" he said with a smile.

I woke just after mid-day feeling ravenously hungry. I groaned and tried to ignore my stomach and go back to sleep. After tossing and turning for a while I began to worry that I would disturb Bill who was lying beside me and so I gave in and got up. I had a quick shower and dressed then headed downstairs in search of food.

Since we had not had time to look around the Hotel when we had arrived last night I simply followed my nose and soon found myself in a large restaurant opening onto a courtyard with a fountain. Looking around I saw Chris and Susie at a table by the fountain and headed over to join them.

"Hi guys!" I said "Mind if I join you?"

"Oh Hi Alex!" said Chris "Hey, Bill isn't mad at me is he? The teasing was Gerry's fault, he started it!"

I must have looked puzzled because he started to explain. "You know…..the "Here Comes the Bride" thing? He looked furious!"

"Oh, he'll get over it, don't worry." I said. "But a little less harping on the honeymoon thing wouldn't be a bad idea!" I picked up a plate and went over to the substantial buffet and began to help myself. Returning to the table I poured myself a coffee and began to eat.

"You two always seem to be starving" said Susie innocently.

Chris and I looked at each other for a moment. "Er…fast metabolism?" said Chris. I just smiled and carried on eating. Neither of us felt up to discussing the nuances of vampire relationships at the moment.

"Anyone like to come out for a walk?" she asked. "I've got a map from reception showing the local market, it's not far."

"Mmm…sounds fun." I said through a mouthful of fruit. "I'm up for that!"

"Think I'll just go back to the room and have a rest" said Chris. "I'll leave you girls to go shopping!" He got up and said "See you later."

Half an hour later Susie and I were strolling around the local market amongst the other tourists trying to avoid the calls of the souvenir sellers. We watched as a man drove a dozen camels down the main street and laughed when a little boy about 10 years old rode past on a bicycle balancing a tray of loaves on his head. To our amazement he let go of the tray to wave to us and then got hold of it again without losing a single loaf!

We wandered around looking at piles of bright silk scarves, jewellery and perfumes for a while. I saw several items of jewellery which I decided I would like to take a closer look at later and I had just turned to Susie to suggest we headed back when I noticed two men heading towards us. They were obviously not locals and one was looking directly at me. As I stepped back I felt someone take hold of me from behind and shouted to Susie to run. Instead the turned back to me and I saw one of the two men run up behind her. Then something hit the back of my head and I collapsed in a heap on the cobbles.


	2. Chapter 2

I was dragged out of my daytime sleep with a jolt by a feeling of uncontrollable panic and an irrational terror. For a moment I had no idea what was going on. I reached for my phone and checked the time on the illuminated screen. It was 6 o'clock in the evening, what on earth was happening to me? I calmed down for a moment only to be hit by another jolt of panic as I realised that it was not me that was in trouble, it was Alex. I was feeling her terror flooding through the bond. I leapt out of bed and hurriedly checked the suite. There was no sign of Alex. What was happening to her? What could I do? I stared at the clock on the wall, it would not be dark for a hour or so. I snatched up my phone again and called her number...nothing, it went straight to answerphone. This was serious. Alex almost never switched her phone off.

I struggled to calm myself and think. Obviously something had happened to her, but what? I sat down on the edge of the bed and tried to relax. I had felt a sudden shock of pain and fear, that was what had woken me. Now I could only feel a generalised fear, but it was strong. Something terrible had happened, was still happening. I got up and began to pace up and down, it didn't help but I had to do something. Suddenly I had an idea, Chris...he might know where Alex had gone. I opened the door of the suite, and rushed next door to Claudia's room.

Chris was sitting on the bed reading and he jumped up when I burst in.

"Bill!" he dropped his book and stared at me, shocked. "What are you doing up?"

"Where's Alex?" I demanded abruptly.

"Um... I think she went out with Susie. They were going to the market I think." he said, looking totally confused. "Why, what's happened?"

"I've no idea, but I intend to find out." I headed back to the honeymoon suite and picked up my phone. I called Charles and Ulrich and left messages to say that Alex was missing. Then I called the Hotel reception desk and asked what time Alex and Susie had left the Hotel and if they had left any message. They had left about an hour ago but there was no message, presumably she had intended to be back before dusk. I then called the local police station and after a short argument with a particularly unhelpful Inspector I learned that no emergency calls had been received in the last hour. By this time it was only half an hour or so before dusk and there was nothing else I could do from inside the room. I paced up and down impatiently, glancing at my watch every few minutes, convinced that the Hotel's automatic shutters were set incorrectly until finally, with a sharp click, the shutters disengaged and slid up.

I raced down to reception and was asking for a map showing the market when Charles and Ulrich appeared. "What's happened?" asked Charles.

"I've no idea. But Alex is in trouble, I can feel it. Chris said she went to the market with Susie, I'm on my way there now.

"Hold it you two!" I turned to see Nan coming in to the reception area with Gerry and Claudia close behind. "Don't you go rushing off. I've just had a call from Security, there's been an incident with the press. One of the reporters covering the conference has just gone missing in the town. It may be nothing to do with..."

"Which reporter?" I asked.

"I didn't ask, what difference does it make?" she looked puzzled.

"Oh for heavens sake Nan! Find out!" I yelled, furious with her uncaring attitude.

She raised her eyebrows slightly but took out her phone and pressed a few buttons. "Hello? I need the reporter's name, repeat that please. Fine." She shut the phone and turned to me. "Susie Parkinson" she said "her name was Susie Parkinson apparently."

Suddenly my legs wouldn't hold me up and I sat down on one of the wicker chairs that were scattered around the reception area. "Was there anyone with her?" I asked.

"They found her bag with her press card." Nan's smooth brow furrowed slightly "but there was something else that was odd, my security people have been to the market to check it out. They're on their way back now." I put my head in my hands and tried to remain calm. A few moments later the outer door opened and three burly human security guards came in. "Well?" asked Nan. "What happened?"

"The girl was gone when we got there Ma'am, She had been attacked and knocked to the ground, but there was no indication that the attackers intended to harm her. In fact, the witnesses said that they seemed more interested in the other girl."

"What other girl?" asked Nan.

"Alex." I whispered. "Alex was with her."

The man turned to me. "Did you know her sir?" he asked.

"Yes, I do know her. I also know that she's not dead and I would be obliged if you would not speak of her in the past tense! What happened?"

"There were three of them, they knocked your friend unconscious and when the other girl tried to help her one of them lashed out and caught her on the side of the head too, knocking her to the ground. They bundled them both into the back of a van and drove off."

"Were they locals?" asked Ulrich. "A kidnapping for ransom maybe?"

"No sir, they were Europeans, the witnesses say they spoke English."

I stood up, my fangs sliding out "The Fellowship, they were from The Fellowship, I'd put money on it. These are the associates of the man we arrested in Cairo, somehow, they found out who gave you the information!"

"That's not possible, the only people who had that information are members of The Authority." said Ulrich flatly.

I thought about this for a moment. "Someone could have seen us going into the conference room, put two and two together, overheard us in the bar perhaps. It's not impossible."

"So what will they do with her?" asked Claudia quietly.

"I've no idea. That's why I have to find her - before they have a chance to do anything!"

"We have to go and talk to the press team" said Nan. "They're waiting for information. "You three, come with me. Bill...good luck!"

I went out into the night and stood in the courtyard at the front of the Osiris. I could sense that Gerry and Claudia had followed me. I concentrated on Alex and I could feel her, yes, that way... "They've taken her over the river" I said quietly, "that way." I pointed in the direction in which I could feel Alex most strongly. The direction of the Valley of the Kings.

* * *

The first thing I noticed was the pain. I felt that my head was about to split open and my arms were twisted behind me. I was sure my eyes were open, but I could see absolutely nothing, there seemed to be something over my head, a hood of some sort. There was something in my mouth and, for a moment, I panicked completely as I couldn't breathe. I forced myself to calm down and breathe through my nose.

I had no idea what was happening to me or why, only that I was moving, in some kind of vehicle being jolted over a bumpy road. Quite suddenly my memory appeared to kick in and I remembered what had happened at the market. Susie! What had happened to her? Was she here too? Just at that point the jolting stopped and I heard doors being opened. Hands reached in, took hold of me and began to pull me out. I tried to struggle and discovered that my legs were tied at the ankles.

"Now then" said a voice. "We'll have to untie your legs so that you can walk, but don't for one moment imagine that you can run away darling, understand?" I sat, frozen, afraid to move.

"Do you understand?" A fist hit the side of my throbbing head, rocking me backwards. I nodded frantically, unable to make a sound through the gag. There was a pause and I was pulled to what felt like the edge of something, hands grasped my ankles and in a few seconds my feet were free again. For a moment or two I felt better and then the blood rushed back into my feet and I nearly passed out again from the pain. I was lifted down and set on the ground. I swayed, struggling to keep upright and two men hustled me forward and down a slight slope. The hood had loosened and, looking down, I could at least see my feet. I was being walked across a dusty limestone surface and it was daylight. I knew that once the sun went down, Bill would be looking for me, but how would he know where to look if even I didn't know where I was?

I was suddenly jerked to a halt and I heard a rattling noise ahead and then a scraping of metal and I was dragged through a rough stone doorway with an iron gate across it and walked across a chamber and through another stone doorway. I heard a muffled cry from behind me and guessed that it was Susie.

"Okay, you can take that off now!" said a voice ahead of me and the hood was roughly pulled off, taking what felt like a handful of my hair with it. I was in a dark chamber with a man behind me, holding my bound arms and another ahead fiddling with something on the ground. A light appeared in his hand and I realised that he was lighting a hurricane lantern. As it flared up I saw decoration on the wall behind him, painted figures and hieroglyphics, We were in a tomb! I turned my head and saw a cartouche on the wall beside the door. User-Maat-Re, Setep-En-Re, the throne names of Ramesses II. But this was not his tomb! That was entered through a long corridor. At this point I was grabbed from behind and hustled through the low doorway into a chamber full of columns and hurried through a door at the far end opening onto a long dark corridor. I knew now where I must be. This was KV5, the tomb of the sons of Ramesses II. I was dragged down the dark corridor into one of the chambers and pushed down into a pit. Another man appeared on the edge of the pit and pushed Susie in with me. One of our captors then climbed in and re-tied the ropes around our ankles. I curled up in a corner and lay still, wondering how long it would be before night fell and brought my lover to me.

I had no idea how long we lay in the darkness of the burial pit, I had no sense of time at all, it might have been minutes or hours, but gradually I became aware of something. A faint feeling of shock and distress, but this feeling wasn't mine, it was Bill! He was awake, but he felt far away. As I lay in silence the feeling grew stronger but I didn't know if it meant that Bill was coming closer or simply becoming more distressed. I tried to think through my headache. Bill would know that I was in trouble, that I was frightened and in pain, but would he know where I was, would he be able to find me? As the feeling of Bill's presence grew stronger I became convinced that he was close. I wondered if I could contact him, consciously. I knew he could feel me, feel my emotions, as I could feel his. How could I let him know where I was? Then I had an idea.

* * *

I crouched down and placed my hands on the limestone floor of the valley. We had arrived a few moments ago, myself, Gerry, Claudia and Alayah, the Egyptian guide who had accompanied us to the valley the previous evening. She was here somewhere, I could feel her. My whole body, every muscle, was taut with her fear. She was in one of the tombs cut into this rock, but which one? I closed my eyes and concentrated on her. The initial terrified panic had receded now and there was just a dull pulse of fear. I tried to remain calm so that my feelings would not blur the connection between us. I was trying to get some sense of direction when I realised that what I was feeling was not constant. What had I thought just now? A pulse, yes that was it. The feeling was changing, and then it would be constant for a while and then it would pulse again. I concentrated on the pulses, one, two, three, four, five and then it steadied. Then five again, and steady. Five.

I leaped up and spun to face Alayah. "Five! I cried. That's it Five, KV5 that's where she is!"

"The Tomb of the Sons?" he asked. "But Mr Compton, that tomb is closed, it's locked up."

"She told me about this, it's the tomb built for the sons of Ramesses II, yes? Close to the entrance to the valley she said."

"This way!" Alayah ran down the road past the closed stalls of the souvenir sellers and pointed to a narrow opening in the rock closed off with a barred iron gate held shut with a large padlock.

"See?" he said "the tomb is locked – it's not one which is open to the public, it's unstable."

I jumped down into the gully and went up to the gate. I heard Alayah jump down behind me as I took the rusty padlock in my hand. I gave a sharp tug and the padlock came off.

"Look" I said "It's been sawn open. The witnesses said there were three men who took Alex and Susie, that means there could be two inside." Alayah looked up at me, puzzled. "At least one of them must have come back out. This padlock has been put back from the outside." I stood up and called to Gerry and Claudia.

"Right, "I said "I'm going in, I don't expect anyone to come with me, we don't know what they might have in the way of weapons."

"They must have explosives" said Gerry "If they were planning to blow up the conference hotel."

"Explosives!" cried Alayah, horrified. "No, no you must not go in! The tomb is unstable, any explosion, even a gunshot could bring the whole thing down on you! The tomb is a maze of passages…"

"I know this Alayah." I explained. "Alex has told me. The tomb is like no other in the valley. There are several long passages with numerous rooms leading off each one. They come back under where we are standing, underneath the roadway where tour buses have stopped for decades and stood with their engines running. Alex told me the vibrations have seriously weakened the ceilings of the tomb." I took him by the shoulders. "But I have no choice, you understand? I have to go in and search for her, you stay here and wait for me."

Gerry laughed "You're not serious, you don't really think we'd let you go in alone do you?" He grinned at me, "We're coming with you! Right Claudia?"

Alayah took a deep breath and said firmly "I will come too."

"You don't need to…."

"Yes, I can help you. I know the layout and besides….I like Miss Alex and Miss Susie they are good people, I want to help! I have a flashlight!"

"No! no lights" I said. "You stay behind us Alayah, if there's any trouble get out straight away, understand?"

"You know there are no lights in the tomb Mr Compton?" he asked.

"We won't need them!" I said grimly.

I pulled open the iron gate gently, trying not to let it grate on the limestone floor, and slipped inside followed closely by Gerry and Claudia with Alayah behind them. The first two chambers were lit faintly by a strip of moonlight coming in from outside and we crept across them and through a doorway directly opposite the entrance into the large third chamber. In the faint moonlight I could just make out the sixteen pillars holding up the ceiling and beyond them a low doorway into a corridor which sloped downwards into utter darkness.

The corridor was about another 100 feet long and with our enhanced sight we could just make out a figure at the end. This must be the statue Alex had mentioned. By now we were well out of range of the faint moonlight coming in from the entrance and the darkness was complete. I could see faintly, certainly sufficiently to make out the statue of Osiris at the junction of the corridors, but I could only imagine Alex's feelings to be held in this impenetrable blackness.

No sooner had this thought crossed my mind than I edged around the corner of the corridor and saw a faint flickering light coming from one of the chambers. I held up my hand and Gerry and Claudia stopped. There was a muffled thump as Alayah walked into the back of Gerry. I stepped back into the main corridor.

"Alayah?" I whispered, "Fourth chamber on the left?"

I felt a hand on my arm and bent my head to hear him. "That is one which has a pit!" he breathed softly. To the back of the chamber, about three feet deep. It was thought to be a burial pit. Some human bones were found inside."

I beckoned to Gerry and indicated that he should move to the other side of the corridor. We crept around the corner and towards the doorway with the light. Gerry moved to the far side and Claudia stayed beside me, she would stay in the doorway in case there were more than two. Gerry and I pressed our backs to the wall on either side of the doorway and listened. I could make out three heartbeats inside, one I was certain was Alex. I signalled to Gerry and we leaped into the chamber and each flung ourselves on one of the guards. In seconds they were both unconscious, although alive and I moved to the pit at the rear of the chamber and looked in. At the bottom of the dark pit was a bundle rolled in what looked like a rug. I jumped down and carefully lifted the cloth.

Alex and Susie lay side by side at the bottom of the pit, their hands tied behind their backs and a couple of dirty rags stuffed into their mouths. I gently pulled out the rags and, as Alex began to cough, lifted her carefully in my arms and placed her on the floor of the chamber. I lifted Susie out as well and then looked up to see Gerry and Claudia each holding one of the guards by the scruff of the neck. As I did so I saw the gleam of metal and noticed the man in Claudia's hands had come round and was pulling a knife from his boot. Claudia was watching me lift the two girls from the pit and hadn't noticed.

Suddenly, for the first time in over a hundred years, I felt that dark, bestial rage that I had felt when I was first turned flood over me as my fangs slid out fully. With a snarl I leaped out of the pit and flung myself on the man slamming him back against the limestone wall of the tomb. I grabbed his wrist and hammered it against the wall, the sharp crack of the bones in his arm breaking mixing with the clatter of the knife falling to the floor. He gave a scream of pain and shock and gasped into silence as I hissed into his face.

"You move so much as a muscle again and I swear I'll rip out your throat!"

There was a shocked pause as I crouched before him, fighting to control the instinctive urge to kill him. Then Gerry reached down, picked up the flickering lantern which lighted the chamber and passed it out to Alayah telling him to head back to the surface. Claudia took the other kidnapper from Gerry and he picked Susie up from the dusty limestone floor. I picked Alex up again and held her tight in my arms. She lay with her head on my shoulder weeping quietly with relief. There was insufficient light to remove the ropes which bound her wrists and ankles so I carried her up the sloping corridor and back through the pillared hall and out into the cool desert air.

By now there were half a dozen cars parked in the roadway outside the tomb and a small crowd had gathered. I noticed several of the reporters who had been at the Hotel as well as Nan, Charles and Ulrich but I was only concerned with Alex. I carried her up the slope to the road and sat down on the ground with her in my arms. Charles came over and pulled a folding knife from his pocket.

"Here, let me" he said, opening the knife and sawing at the rope around her ankles. In a moment her wrists and ankles were free and she flung her arms around my neck and clung to me.

"Is she okay?" he asked.

"Are you, sweetheart?" I whispered.

She pulled her head back to look up at me and I saw her face for the first time. It was streaked with dust and tears and one side was purple with bruising. I felt my fangs slide out again and struggled to hold back my fury at the men who had done this to her.

"I'll be okay" she said quietly. "I'll be fine now." She put her head back against my chest and then appeared to remember something. "Susie?" she said, looking back up at me, "where's Susie?"

"Gerry has her, she's safe." I held her tightly in my arms and felt her weeping softly against my chest. I looked up at Claudia, holding both of the struggling kidnappers by the necks and wished fervently that we didn't have to hand them over to the authorities. The authorities who were, just now, arriving I noticed. Led by the useless Police Inspector, who ignored me and marched up to Claudia and demanded she hand over her prisoners. Claudia hissed at him angrily and he stepped back sharply looking shocked. Charles went over to her and quietly persuaded her to give up the captives to the Police and, grumbling quietly, she complied.

At this point I found that I didn't care what happened to them, I just wanted to get Alex back to the Hotel and take care of her. I stood up and, studiously ignoring the Police, photographers and especially Nan, I carried Alex to one of the cars. Ulrich jumped in with us and told the driver to take us back to the Osiris.

* * *

I didn't remember much of what happened after Bill pulled the rug off me and carried me up from the pit and out of the tomb. The relief was so intense that I seemed unable to do anything other than cry with shock.

He carried me back to the Hotel suite, laid me gently down on the bed and went into the bathroom to run a bath. Then he came back and sat down on the bed beside me.

"Let's get you comfortable shall we?" he said gently and reached over to unbutton my shirt. I made what seemed like a huge effort and sat up.

"That's better." he said with a smile.

I heaved a sigh and pulled off my torn shirt and wriggled out of my jeans. Yes, a hot bath would be good! Bill slipped quickly out of his clothes and gently removed my bra and panties.

"You don't mind if I join you?" he asked, picking me up in his arms and carrying me into the steamy bathroom. He climbed into the huge bath and sank down into the hot water with me in his arms. Picking up a small flannel he began to gently wipe the dust from my face, carefully working around the bruises. Then he lifted his wrist to his mouth and bit quickly down into the vein and offered it to me. I watched for a moment as a drop of his blood dripped from the wound and traced swirling patterns in the bathwater.

I lifted my head and felt the sharp throb of my headache, I thought of Bill crouching on the valley floor, feeling my fear, tracking me through the bond we shared. Reaching forward I took his arm and kissed the palm of his hand.

"Thank you" I whispered as I placed my mouth on the wounds in his wrist and drank. I could feel my headache fading almost straight away and as Bill's fingers lightly brushed my cheek, I guessed that the bruising was fading as well.

"You are very welcome my precious" he murmured as he held me close and slid down a little, pulling us both further into the deliciously hot, scented water. "How do you feel now?" he asked quietly.

"I don't seem to feel anything at all" I said "I'm so relieved to be out of there, I was never so pleased to see anyone as I was when you pulled that rug off me. But somehow, I just feel, numb. Oh Bill, what happened?" I asked, turning to face him.

He sighed, "I'm afraid I don't know much" he said. "Nan had a call from the Hotel Security to say that Susie's bag with her press card in it had been found in the market place in the middle of the afternoon. The witnesses said that the two of you had been attacked by three men. When the emergency services got there you were both gone."

"But you knew that already? That they had taken me?" I asked.

"Yes….. well I knew that something bad had happened to you although I didn't know what it was exactly. I woke, mid-afternoon with your fear tearing through me. When we heard what had happened to Susie, I guessed they had taken you too, I knew you were still alive at least, but there was no clue as to where they had gone."

I could feel Bill's distress as he recalled the moment he had awoken and I began to gently rub my hand on his chest. "It must have been dreadful for you, not being able to do anything?"

He gave me a slightly sheepish look, "I'm afraid I did a bit of damage to the wall. I was so angry and frustrated I punched it….a few times…" he smiled at me, "I was out of here as soon as it was possible. I was able to tell which direction they had taken you but when we reached the valley it became more difficult. I knew you were there, somewhere, but that hillside is riddled with tombs." He smiled down at me again. "But fortunately, you are a very clever girl!"

I looked up at him, surprised. "What? You felt that?"

"Five!" he said smugly. "That's how I knew where to look!"

I was amazed "Wow, it worked!"

"I couldn't believe what I was feeling at first, I've never heard of anything like it happening before. But I soon realised it was not random, it was very deliberate. I found it hard to believe that you could be calm enough to control your feelings that way, but there was no other explanation."

I snuggled comfortably into his arms "I wasn't easy, but it was the only thing I could think of. Is there no other way?"

"Not that I know of. The blood bond transmits feelings, emotions, not specific information." At least, not until now!"

"What happened to the two men you dragged out of the tomb?" I asked "and the third man?"

"They were handed over to the Egyptian authorities at the scene" he explained. "I don't think the third man has been found yet. Nan is putting up a strong case for them to be handed over to us for trial but somehow I can't see any human authorities willingly handing over other humans to the Vampire Authority for punishment. Not if they can help it." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "However, if they even think they might be handed over to The Authority then maybe they'll become a little more co-operative!" He moved as if to drop a kiss on to the top of my head and then changed his mind. "Yech! Your hair is full of dust from the tomb!"

"Oh, no!" I wriggled out of his arms and ducked my head under the water, shaking my hair to try and get the worst of the dust out. As I surfaced Bill climbed out of the bath and fetched a bottle of shampoo from the shelf. He sat down on the edge of the bath and squeezed some into my outstretched hands and watched me as I soaped my hair. Just then there was a knock at the door and Bill stood up and reached for one of the towelling robes hanging on the back of the bathroom door.

"You stay here and try and relax." He said, going out and closing the bathroom door behind him. I heard him open the door and the soft murmur of voices before I lay back with my ears underwater and began to rinse the soap out of my hair. When I surfaced again I could still hear a quiet conversation going on. I strained to make out what was being said but could not quite hear anything. After a few minutes of wondering what was going on I gave up and got out of the bath.

As I came out of the bathroom wearing a fluffy hotel robe and with my hair wrapped up in a towel the first thing I noticed was a row of ragged dents in the plaster of the far wall. Bill hadn't been joking! I looked around to see Charles and Nan sitting in the two armchairs, Bill was sitting on one of the couches and Ulrich on the other. They all looked up as I entered and Bill got up and came over to me.

"Come and sit down Alex." He drew me over to the couch and sat down next to me.

Ulrich smiled "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Much better thank you." I said, giving him a smile in return.

Nan gave me a slightly watery smile, "Glad to hear it" she said, insincerely and turned back to Bill. "As I was saying we need to get the press on side with this. They're all ready all over it because the other girl is a reporter herself." Bill gave a patient sigh. "Oh come on Bill! It's great publicity. Girl gets kidnapped and held captive in an Egyptian tomb, of all places. Vampire lover rushes to the rescue. I couldn't have thought up anything better myself! In fact it's rather a shame I didn't think of it first!"

Bill glared at her in silence. "Well, you know what I mean! You deserve some credit anyway. After all, you did rush to the rescue didn't you? How did you know where she was by the way?" she asked.

"We have a blood bond." said Bill.

Nan's eyebrows shot up. "You didn't tell me that Charles! But that wouldn't tell you exactly which tomb she was in would it? I understand that you went straight to it?" she said, eyeing me suspiciously.

I smiled back at her as innocently as I could manage.

"It's a powerful bond." said Bill shortly.

I remained silent. Nan was a pain in the ass and I didn't want her having any more information about me or my relationship with Bill than was absolutely necessary.

Charles at least appreciated what I meant to Bill and, since he needed Bill, he was prepared to tolerate me, even possibly make an effort to like me, for his sake. Nan was not even prepared to go that far. To her, I was simply an inconvenience, something which took Bill's mind off politics.

Bill stood up "I think perhaps you should leave now" he said "Alex needs some rest."

"We have a lot to discuss Bill" said Nan, clearly unwilling to break off their conversation.

"I'm sure it can wait" said Bill firmly. "If not, I have no doubt that the three of you can handle it between you. I'll be available for the press conference later on." He walked to the door and opened it. Charles got up and headed for the door.

"I'm glad you're all right Alex," he said with a genuine smile.

Ulrich took my hand and, rather to my surprise, kissed it gently. "I'm truly sorry that this has happened, you have done us a great service." As he spoke I heard a buzzing noise and he stood up and reached into his pocket for his phone. He smiled at me and turned away, flipping it open. I watched him.

"Yes…you have! Good, that's very good. I'll speak to you later."

He turned back to me. "Well, it appears that Egyptian Security has just picked up the third man!" He smiled down at me. "I think you can relax now Alex." He nodded to Bill and followed Charles out of the door.

Nan got up reluctantly and left as well "Two hours! In the conference suite!" she said with a look that said, "Be there or else!"

Bill closed the door and looked back at me as I sat on the edge of the couch.

"Press conference?"

He sighed, "Look, you don't have to attend if you don't want to. I'll deal with Nan!"

"Oh...I suppose I should be there. Susie'll do most of the talking, she'll be used to it!" I got up and went over to the large wardrobe with a sigh. "What do you think you should wear to a press conference?" I asked.

Bill laughed. "Whatever you like darling. But I'll tell you one thing, I'm not letting you out of my sight again until we're safe at home!" He came over and wrapped his arms around me slipping his hands inside the fluffy robe and kissing me.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" I giggled.

"Well" he said thoughtfully, "We've got two hours?"

The press conference was just chaotic. Bill was as good as his word and stuck firmly to my side the whole time. I noticed with interest that Gerry was doing the same thing with Susie. She was in her element, answering the shouted questions and joking with senior reporters and TV correspondents who, only a day or so ago, wouldn't have given a novice such as her the time of day. I stayed back and let Bill take most of the questions with Nan and Ulrich explaining about the bomb plot and somehow, the question of how Bill had known exactly where to find us was forgotten in the general congratulatory atmosphere.

Eventually, Bill and I managed to get away and he followed me back to the suite, padding along the corridors like a hunting dog, practically sniffing the air for any trace of trouble. Once we were back inside with the door securely locked he appeared to relax a little and we undressed and fell into bed together. I rolled over against his hard muscular body and held tightly to him as I drifted off to sleep.

For the final few days of the conference I was entirely nocturnal. Bill absolutely refused to allow me out of his sight and, I have to admit, I felt so much safer in his company that I was quite happy to comply, for the time being at least.

"Don't you imagine that I'm going to live like this when we get home Bill Compton!" I warned him.

"So long as I can get you home in one piece!" he laughed "I'll be happy with that."

Ulrich was so impressed with Bill's rescue and all the good publicity associated with it that he let him off all the rest of the meetings and we were finally free to have our holiday. We arranged several trips with Claudia and Chris, and Gerry and Susie who appeared to be getting on so well together that I began to tease her about taking her research into vampires a little too far!

We visited the Great Temple of Karnak at Luxor and took a trip up the Nile to Aswan to visit the island temple of Isis at Philae. Both the temples have a Son et Lumière display at night but the one I remember best was Philae. We disembarked on the island, Bill lifting me out of the boat and walked hand in hand through the great pylons and courtyards as the spotlights lit up areas of the temple complex and the commentaries spoke of the history and the rescue of the great temple from the rising waters of the Nile.

We sat together in the boat for the trip back with our arms around each other and looked back at the island with the temple complex lit up with spotlights.

"Oh, Bill...this has turned out to be the most wonderful holiday I've ever had!" I sighed. "It's such a shame tomorrow is our last night."

"But we're going to Abu Simbel tomorrow night" said Bill "and I've arranged a little surprise of my own!" I tried hard but no amount of pleading would get Bill to say anything more. I'd just have to wait.

The next night we left the Hotel for the last time, our bags had already been collected by the Anubis Courier Service. Bill took me by the hand and we walked to the elevators, but to my surprise Bill pressed the button for the roof garden.

"Hey, I thought we were going to Abu Simbel?" I said

"Oh, we are!" said Bill with a secretive little smile. We walked out onto the roof garden of the Osiris and there, on the roof, was a helicopter!

"It belongs to Ulrich" explained Bill. "He offered me the use of it for tonight. We can use it to get up to Abu Simbel and to get back to the airport before dawn. We'd have very little time there otherwise."

I was speechless, for once! Bill took my hand and helped me up. "Ready?" he asked, when he had strapped me in firmly. I took hold of his hand nervously. "Yes" I said and with a roar, the engine started up and we lifted off from the roof and set off up the Nile to Aswan and across the great Dam. I thought that this was Bill's only surprise, but I was wrong. When we landed in the desert I saw my next surprise. Alayah ran up to us, beaming, and said "This way Mr Compton."

When the dust had settled I saw two camels sitting patiently waiting for us.

"Since you're such an expert now I thought this would be the best way to get there." said Bill with a smile. Alayah helped us into the saddles and said "Just follow the lakeside Mr Compton."

"Wait a moment!" I said "where's everyone else? The rest of the party?"

"There is no party" said Bill "There's just us, the Temple is closed to the public tonight. It is open only for you my precious." I sat with my mouth open as we set off along the lakeside my excitement rising as, ten minutes later, we rounded a bend and saw the two great Temples ahead of us lit up in the moonlight. At the foot of the larger Temple was Bill's final surprise, a large tent, lit up from inside with flickering lights. Bill dismounted and lifted me down, then tied up the two camels to a stout post beside the tent while I looked inside and smiled with pleasure. The floor of the tent was covered with a thick rug which was itself covered with a scattering of rose petals. Silken pillows lay scattered around and scented candles carefully held in glass holders were lined up around the edges of the little nest he had prepared for me in the desert.

"Oh Bill, it's beautiful" I said, turning to him as he picked me up in his arms and swept me into the tent. I put my arms around his neck and kissed him as he knelt down on the rug and pulled me onto his lap. He simply sat and stared into my eyes for a moment before his fingers moved to the buttons of my loose cotton shirt. Soon we were both naked and I reached for him but he stopped me.

"No, my precious one" he whispered "tonight is for you."

He eased me down onto my back on the rug and took both my wrists in his hand holding them above my head as he began to trail kisses down my body. I pulled at him, trying to get loose but it was as if my hands were nailed to the ground. Bill was always so gentle and considerate with me that I sometimes forgot how immensely strong he was. As soon as I gave up and relaxed he released my hands and continued his exploration of my flesh with his talented mouth. Before long I was moaning and wriggling on the rug as he continued to kiss me softly. He moved back up to kiss my lips and I felt his painfully hard shaft pressing against my thigh.

"Oh please Bill" I rubbed myself against him, shivering, "I can't take any more, I need you...please!" In a flash he had flipped me over onto my stomach and slid his hands under my hips, raising me up a little and pulling me back onto him as he drove himself into me. I gave a little cry of pleasure and he began to move inside me and I lost myself to the delicious sensation. But that was only the beginning. I lost count of the number of times I climaxed before he picked me up and carried me naked between the enormous seated statues of Pharaoh into the great Temple wrapped in one of the silk sheets.

We wandered hand in hand through the columned halls past the great statues of Ramesses II as Osiris and made love for hours wrapped in the silken sheet on the windblown sand, Bill focussing his fierce concentration totally on my pleasure.

When, some time towards dawn, he finally allowed himself release the shattering power of his climax hit me through the bond with such ecstasy that I thought I would truly die.

He had bitten me only twice during the night and taken only a little of my blood each time, simply to enhance my pleasure, and he insisted that I drink from him in return.

"To re-inforce the bond" he said. "Without it I might never have found you."

"But you would have kept trying, wouldn't you?" I asked drowsily.

"You know I would" he said "you would have done the same for me. You've saved me before." He chuckled.

"What?" I asked turning to him.

"I just can't get that image out of my head!" he laughed.

"What image?"

"You hitting Lazlo around the ear with a frying pan!" he said between giggles. "You know I could never have fought him off without your help" he said, suddenly serious. You are a brave, intelligent and resourceful woman Alex" he leaned over and kissed me gently, "and I love you" he whispered.

Afterwards, when we lay locked together on the sand, gazing up at the stars I sighed and said "Well, kidnappings apart, this was the best holiday I've ever had!"

Bill simply smiled down at me.

About a week after we returned home I came back to Bill's house on a Friday evening after a busy day at work. He was sitting on a couch on the terrace reading and smiled at me as I came in and dropped my bag with a sigh.

"Busy day precious?" he asked putting the book down and coming over to give me a hug.

"Yes" I stretched my arms up trying to get the kinks out of my back. I'd been sitting at a computer all day and I was as stiff as a board.

"Why don't I go and run us a nice hot bath?" he suggested. The little glint in his beautiful blue eyes hinting that getting relaxed and clean was not all he had in mind!

"Oh yes, good idea!" I said and moved to follow him out of the room. At the last minute I turned back and went over to the couch, curious to see what he had been reading. It was an old leather bound book of poetry with a bookmark lying across it. I picked up the bookmark to see the poem. It was "Ozymandias of Egypt". I gave a little smile and followed him to the bathroom.

Ozymandias of Egypt

by

Percy B Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land  
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone  
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,  
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown  
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command  
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read  
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,  
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.  
And on the pedestal these words appear:  
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:  
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"  
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay  
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,  
The lone and level sands stretch far away".


End file.
